What to read next
8 books like A Court of Splintered Harmony
The book isn't out yet, so these choices draw on its official premise and the first five ACOTAR books. I've looked for different ways to keep the romance, uneasy alliances or magical danger, rather than pretending to know how the new story will read.
Read our guide to A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas.
Explore Sarah J. Maas's books · Follow the ACOTAR reading order
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Best matches
Three strong places to start
If you only want three picks, start here.
Best overall
Fastest read
Best alternative
Choose by reading mood
Where to start
For the fastest read
Fourth Wing
BriskFor the gentlest option
Swordheart
GentleFor the strongest romance
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood
CentralFor the easiest entry
The Will of the Many
AccessibleContinue the series
A Court of Forgotten Melody
The seventh ACOTAR book follows Splintered Harmony and carries the subtitle The Valkyrie Cycle, Movements II & III. Its announced publication date is January 12, 2027. Keep it after book 6 in the series sequence; it is a continuation rather than one of the eight alternatives below.
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The full shortlist
Why each book belongs here
Fourth Wing is the easiest new-series route into romance and dangerous training. Swordheart gives you a smaller, funnier adventure. House of Flame and Shadow stays with Maas but requires two earlier Crescent City books. The later picks put more weight on court hostility, craft, rebellion or institutional power.
1
Fourth Wing
- Pace
- Brisk
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Fourth Wing puts attraction inside a dangerous network of loyalties. Its romance connects to ACOTAR's established appeal, while the strained allegiances offer a route from A Court of Splintered Harmony's announced alliance crisis. Violet's dragon bond also makes magical power a question of whom she can trust.
- Different because
- Fourth Wing begins at a lethal military academy, with training tests and dragons replacing ACOTAR's established Fae courts. You can begin with Violet without carrying five books of history.
- Choose this if
- I'd choose Fourth Wing if you want a new series with direct narration, physical trials and romance woven through the danger.
- Skip this if
- Skip it if very modern dialogue or an academy that routinely kills its own cadets would undermine the setting for you.
2
Divine Rivals
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Significant
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Divine Rivals offers another way to read about intimacy under magical wartime pressure while waiting for A Court of Splintered Harmony. Its letters give two people a private connection while larger powers shape their lives.
- Different because
- Divine Rivals follows rival journalists and anonymous correspondence, with much less emphasis on elaborate courts or magical combat. The war between gods matters, but the writing gives the relationship more room than the political machinery.
- Choose this if
- Try Divine Rivals for tenderness, grief and a romance built through written voice rather than constant physical confrontation.
- Skip this if
- I would pass if you need detailed military politics or a complete story in one volume; this begins a duology.
3
House of Flame and Shadow
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Significant
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Why this matches
- Similar because
- House of Flame and Shadow offers Maas's established mix of tangled alliances, romantic loyalties and magical conflict. Those are defensible connections to ACOTAR's existing appeal and the announced premise of A Court of Splintered Harmony, without assuming events in the new book.
- Different because
- House of Flame and Shadow is Crescent City book 3, with a modern urban setting, a large ensemble and crossover context. Read House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath first; it is not a standalone substitute for ACOTAR book 6.
- Choose this if
- Choose House of Flame and Shadow if you already know Crescent City's first two books and want more of Maas's sprawling ensemble fantasy.
- Skip this if
- Skip this route if you want an immediate starting point or are only reading it because you think Crescent City is required for Splintered Harmony. The official guides do not establish that requirement.
4
The Wolf and the Crown of Blood
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Moderate
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- The Wolf and the Crown of Blood makes court allegiance and dangerous attraction difficult to separate. That puts it beside the fractured alliances in A Court of Splintered Harmony's official description, with physical magical costs giving political hostility teeth.
- Different because
- The Wolf and the Crown of Blood begins a different court story, with bodily magic and a furious heroine. Its romance can soften hostility faster than the surrounding politics seem to justify; the new ACOTAR book's handling of those questions remains unknown.
- Choose this if
- I'd recommend The Wolf and the Crown of Blood when you want anger, blood and enemies who have concrete reasons to distrust each other.
- Skip this if
- Leave it aside if violence, explicit intimacy or a rush of court factions would spoil the reading experience.
5
Swordheart
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Swordheart keeps the fantasy-romance question of whether protection can become trust, an established ACOTAR concern worth revisiting before A Court of Splintered Harmony. Halla and her enchanted protector must take magical obligation seriously rather than treating it as uncomplicated destiny.
- Different because
- Swordheart replaces courts and looming war with an inheritance dispute, a road journey and middle-aged leads. Its comedy and practical legal problems offer a substantial change of scale.
- Choose this if
- Pick Swordheart if you want adult affection, sustained banter and a fantasy heroine whose intelligence is easy for other people to underestimate.
- Skip this if
- I wouldn't choose it for relentless action or a vast political saga. The road plot takes its time and repeats a few jokes.
6
A Kiss of Hammer and Flame
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Central
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- A Kiss of Hammer and Flame combines a dangerous alliance with war and magical power. That is a concrete route from the official alliance crisis in A Court of Splintered Harmony to another romantic fantasy, with blacksmithing giving the magic a different texture.
- Different because
- A Kiss of Hammer and Flame puts heat, metal and skilled labor at the center. Its forge work is more convincing than its wider politics, and it opens another series rather than continuing ACOTAR.
- Choose this if
- I'd try A Kiss of Hammer and Flame for a capable craftswoman and attraction complicated by opposed loyalties.
- Skip this if
- Skip it if familiar romantasy revelations are your main frustration. The physical craft adds interest, but it does not make every plot turn surprising.
7
Mistborn: The Final Empire
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- Mistborn: The Final Empire makes trust among magically powerful allies essential to resisting a larger threat. It offers an action-and-alliance route from A Court of Splintered Harmony's announced conflict, with a crew whose private loyalties affect the public plan.
- Different because
- Mistborn: The Final Empire is a heist-shaped rebellion with clearly defined metal-fueled powers. Its romance is secondary, and the struggle against an oppressive ruler replaces ACOTAR's Fae-court relationships.
- Choose this if
- Choose Mistborn: The Final Empire if magical strategy and a crew learning to trust each other matter more to you than a central love story.
- Skip this if
- Pass if you mainly want fantasy romance or dislike scenes explaining how magical abilities work.
8
The Will of the Many
- Pace
- Balanced
- Darkness
- Gentle
- Romance
- Minimal
- Difficulty
- Accessible
Why this matches
- Similar because
- The Will of the Many builds tension around concealed loyalties and institutions that draw power from other people. For readers interested in the political side of A Court of Splintered Harmony's announced alliance crisis, it offers a sharper focus on who benefits from cooperation.
- Different because
- The Will of the Many follows a concealed identity at an elite academy in a Roman-influenced fantasy society. Romance has little weight; the attraction is political mystery, competition and the mechanics of a coercive hierarchy.
- Choose this if
- I'd choose The Will of the Many when you want to trade romantic intensity for an academy mystery with substantial political stakes.
- Skip this if
- Skip it if a love story is the main reason you read ACOTAR, or if you need every major mystery settled in this first volume.
Side-by-side
Pace, darkness, romance, and difficulty
| Book | Pace | Darkness | Romance | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Court of Splintered Harmony | Not released yet | |||
| Fourth Wing | Brisk | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| Divine Rivals | Balanced | Gentle | Significant | Accessible |
| House of Flame and Shadow | Balanced | Gentle | Significant | Moderate |
| The Wolf and the Crown of Blood | Balanced | Moderate | Central | Accessible |
| Swordheart | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| A Kiss of Hammer and Flame | Balanced | Gentle | Central | Accessible |
| Mistborn: The Final Empire | Balanced | Gentle | Minimal | Accessible |
| The Will of the Many | Balanced | Gentle | Minimal | Accessible |
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